The Jeep Compass will make its India debut on April 12. The American SUV-maker has high hopes from the SUV which is expected to be priced around Rs 20-25 lakh.

The Jeep Compass will make its India debut on April 12. The American SUV-maker has high hopes from the SUV which is expected to be priced around Rs 20-25 lakh.(Jeep India)

American luxury sport-utility-vehicle maker Jeep released a video teaser of its SUV Compass, a week before it is unveiled in India on April 12.

The video reveals nothing more than what we already know about the SUV. It’s got LED daytime running lights with projector headlamps connected by the iconic seven-slot grille and an SUV silhouette marked by beefed-up square wheel-arches over the 18-inch alloys.

The Compass will be powered by a 2.0-litre turbocharged diesel engine from Fiat’s MultiJet series, mated to either a 6-speed manual or a 9-speed automatic gearbox to generate 170bhp of power and 350Nm of torque.

A 1.6-litre petrol unit is also expected to feature in this Jeep.

Jeep claims the Compass can clock 0 to 100 kph in less than 10 seconds, and has a top speed of 194 kph.

Like earlier Jeeps in India, the Compass is likely to get an AWD version, and Jeep says it will have 50+ safety features. A standard 410 litres of cargo space can be expanded to 1,190 litres when the rear seats are knocked down.

The video teaser looks promising and the company has high hopes from the Compass, which will be the first made in India Jeep to be rolled out of its Ranjangaon plant near Pune.

Jeep entered India last July with two exorbitant SUVs -- the Wrangler at Rs 71.59 lakh, and the Grand Cherokee in three variants from Rs 93.64 lakh to Rs 1.12 crore. Both the models were imported as completely built units (CBU). Though the prices of Wrangler were later slashed to Rs 56 lakh, the brand hasn’t really picked up in India yet.

The company had plans to open 10 dealerships by December 2016, however only seven outlets in Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai and New Delhi were established as per the Jeep India website. Two more in Chandigarh and Hyderabad are “coming soon”.

The Compass is expected to be priced between Rs 20-25 lakh and will decide the fate of the Jeep brand in India. It could be a direct rival of the Hyundai Tucson and the Honda CR-V, but the Ford Endeavour and Toyota Fortuner will also have to watch out.